Regulated power supply



Oct. 17, 1961 D. s. COLBURN 3,005,144

REGULATED POWER SUPPLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 18, 1958 DAV/0 5. COLBUE/V INVENTOR.

fICi 7 MW ATTORNEYS Oct. 17, 1961 D. s. COLBURN 3,005,144

REGULATEID POWER SUPPLY Filed April 1.8, 1958 5 Sheets-$heet 2 TO RELAY VOLTAGE STABLE IZER 0 .C LBU V/ 5 ISVENTOiN iii/1% ATTOP VEYS Oct. 17, 1961 D. s. COLBURN 3,005,144

REGULATED POWER SUPPLY Filed April 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 8.6 4v f1 [3...4 lll DAV/0 Q g u /g ppl an mor specifically t regulated power supply.

1 D.-C. voltage serves 'ftovary-theffiring angle.

,controlcannot'be ehieved over thefull 180.

, phase shiftnetwork is achieved by the use tuberco rimary or the transformer David S.- C(ilburn, Pale AltojCaliL, assignorto lleckrnau This invention relates generally to a regulated power thyratron-controlled In order to provide adjustableregulated i=0. power,

'in certain ranges ofvoltages: andgcurrents, the thyratron is the-most economical element For thecircuit to regulate, means rnust bGjPIOVldCd tor utilizing a D.-C. error signal derived from-the output to -control thefiring angle of the thyratron, 3 p p H p The-firing angle ofa thyratronmay be controlled by controlling the phase of the grid vo1tage. Thisvhas been achieved'in thesprior art' by adjustment of a variable resistor which is connected in alphase shifting net-work. The firing angle has also been controlled by employing an Ail-C. signal oti fixed'phase and amplitude --which' is super- Variation of the However,

For relatively"largefiiring' angles, the control becomes unstable.

It is a geenral object-of-theipresent invention to=provide aphase'controlled' thyratron in which the phase'of the grid signal is contr lled by an electricalsig'nal.

It is anotherobject of the present invention-to provide agrid controlled shifting network having ance element. 7 p p i v It isanotherbbjec't of the" present invention toprovide a thyra'tron controlled regulated "power supply inwhich the phase of the power is controlled by a ph'ase shifting network including variable resistance means which ineludes the" transconduc'ta ncefot an= e1ectrbn-ti1-be.

It-is "furtherfobject or the vide a: phase shift" 'netwo'r'kffor 1 use in -a" thyratron regulated power supply inwhichhn electromtube 'is- 'iised-as the variableresistorair'd inwhich the Dr-C. error signal is employed to control?'thetr-ansconductance' oft-he tribe to thereby control 'the phase s ft.

imposed on 'avar-iable Ds C. voltage;

'neleetrically controlledres'ist- These and other objects"bfthednventionwill-become more clearly apparentfroin p p M when taken in conjunction-with t-heaccompanying drawp. 1 Referring to 'the drawing:

' FIGURE 1; shows spam s ining network in accordance with theim'ention;

FIGURE 2 shows another embodiment of; the invention in which the D.' -C.co'ntrol and plate supply'voltages FIGURES shows another embodiment of the inventionwhich incliides'aj pentodeinfthe network; and

FIGURE '4A.-B shows a'circuit diagram "of '-aregu- Referring to FIGURE} f'the variable resistance "inthe I of anele'ctron ectedi as' a cathodeftollowen In'thecirciiit, the resistance, in "theubhaseshift networkconnected in the secondar 6f "'the' transformer varies with the g oft-hertube; The reference signal E is. applied to the ill. The 'secondaryjof the a series network which intransformer is connecte 'to V clu'desthe 'capacitortlL-ltheresistor 13, arid the parallel combination of resistor '14 and the plate to cathodejpath of therv'acuum tube 16. i The. reference 'voltagesE has a fixed-phase with respectfto the voltage applied'between plate and cathode of the -thyratrons,-. preferably. the voltthe following descif'ip'tion i United State 11mmt thyr-atron"circuit which includes a-phase v Patented Oct. 17, 19761 72 p The fvol'ta-ge which appears across the A.-C ,resistor13is applied between the grid and cathode-rot thetube $16 through-a capacitor 17. Super- "pos'ed upon this AC. is the -D.C. error (control) sigfnalwhichr-is appliedat the terminals18. An isolating resist'or19mayhbeprovided'to isolate the source of control ages are ,in 51311386.

signal frornthephaseashift network. Suitable platevoltage 22iis appliedto the circuit. p I

-.Ihelftransc'oriductance of the tube'lfi will vary in ac- ,cbrdance withthe "DAC. signal applied betweenlthegrid ahd'ca'thode. Thus, the resistance in the-path including thevresistor .14 and vacuum tube .16 will vary, and the "phase of the voltage across. the-resistor 14 will vary.

Tlhewoiitput voltagefis obtained-across the resistor 14 and applied toftheygrids df t-he thyratrons. The voltage .is "shown a's'E at ,terminals 121. i j I flhefollowing explanation. may aid in understanding the ,operation ofthe circuit: i'l hejterminals ofthe phase shift c-ir'cuit are'labele'd a,b and ceasindicated.

-'Eab' load impedance of (the circuit conflat is 1 increased, and E is'decreased.

7 g is highest. Bias voltage (direct current) between cathodeand control grid 'variesg Thus,.it' is seen that the phase sh-iftis'control-led by aD.'-C. control signal;

In "the phaseshift network of FIGURE 2, the power "supply iscbnnected in series *with the cathode resistor between -it and the cathode. This' has no efiect onthe operation of the circuit but allows the DEC. control signal and' plat'e supply voltage source to have a common The elements of the circuit-are as-preViOusIy-dethe same reference numerals. to that described-but ground scribed and, therefore,carry 1111 FIGURE 3, a circuit similar including "apentode tube is illustrated. A pentode is ipretterably employed since it has a reasonably linear relaytionship betw'e'en gm' and grid bias. The circuity includes a transformer coupled output to reject any 'hur'n'f-rom the LB+ supply and to step up the voltage to a required value. The'inpiitre'ference signal'E is appliedithrough a transformer 11. The phase shift networkfincludes-the capacitor 12, andjresistors 13 and 14 as previously descr'ibed. The input is "applied through an isolating resistor Hand the A.-C. signal is capacitivelytcoupled throughthe capacitorli tothe'grid'ofthetube. Suitable biasrvoltage for 'fthe'sc'reen grid isprov'i'd'ed" by the com- 'bination of resistors 31 and 32. A bypass capacitor 33 is "connected in shunt btweenthe cathode Land screen im e The c cuit jnst described may he radon-controlled regulated power supply'toprovidea voltage of variable .phase tov the grids of thyratrons. "Rejerririgto'FiG'URE 14, a regulated'powensupply in accordance with 'theiinventio'n'is illustrated. The power supply'includes apair of thyratrons' fl'and' tz connected tina fulhwav'efrectifier circuit. The "rectified signal is lvappliedto a'filteri43 which includes 'the inductor 44 and Lcapacitors -46 and 47; The rectifiedsign'al is'available at tithe output terminals. The seriesctimbination of resis- 54 connectedacrossfthe output lines t ters s1;'52,5 s and I vprovides means for sampling the outputivoltage-to derive employed inna thye which controls the firing angle of the thyratrons.

f the series resistors 67 and 68 to an error (control) signal for application to the phase shift network which controls the firing angle of the thyratrons. Alternatively, the output current may be regulated and means for accomplishing this include the series parallel combination of resistors indicated generally by the reference numeral 56. The combination includes the series combination of parallel resistors 57 and 58, parallel resistors 59 and 60, and resistor 61. The voltage drop across these resistors is sampled and serves as the error signal for application to the phase shift network Thus, by switching the switch 63 to the terminals 1 and 2', a regulated output voltage is obtained, While by switching the switch to terminals 3, 4 and 5, a regulated output current is obtained.

The error signal is applied along the line 66 through ground. The common terminal of the resistors is connected by a network to the grid of the tube 69 which, in conjunction with the tube 71, are connected. as a D.-C. amplifier for providing an amplified error signal to the grid of the tube 72. The reference voltage is applied through the transformer 73 to the grid of the tube 72.

The D.-C. voltage serves to vary the transconductance of the tube as previously described.

The combination of rectifiers and filter 77 provides plate voltage for the tubes 69 and 72, and the combination of rectifiers and filters 78 provides a negative supply voltage for the cathodes of the tubes 69 and 71.

The secondary of the transformer 76 is connected to the grids of the tube 81"which is connected in a balanced amplifier circuit with the plates connected across the primary of the transformer 82. A transformer 97 adds a voltage of so that the output voltage has a reasonably constant amplitude over range of phase shift. The secondary terminals of the transformer 82 are connected to the grids of the thyratrons 41 and 42. An A.-C. voltage of varying phase with respect to the input voltage is applied to the grids thereby controlling the output current of the thyratron combination. Depending upon whether voltage or current is sampled, a regulated output voltage or output current is obtained. A regulated power supply was constructed in accordance withthe circuit diagram of FIGURE 4 and the various components had the following values:

104 do i 106 do voltage ranges,

fixed phase to the grids of the tube 81' control signal Thyratrons: 41 and 42 5557 I Tubes:

69, 71 12AX7 72 6AI-I6 81 12AT7 85 0B2. 86 866A Transformers:

73.. ThordarsonZlFOS. "76. Triad 35A.

82-; TriadA39A. 91 UTC S50. 92 Thordarson 2lFO8. 97 Thordarson 21FO8. Inductors:

-44 12 henrys, 250 milliamps, I 93 20 henrys. Resistors:

5l ohms 25K 68 ohms K 52 do 25K 96 do 51K 53 do 100K 97 do 51K, 54 do 100K 98' do 2.7 57 do 10K 99 do 1K 58 do 1K 100 -do 10K 59 do 10K 102 m 1 60 do 1K [103 ohms 100K 15K 94K 75' signal-is controll Resistors-C0ntinued:

107 ..m 1.8 118 ohms 51K 108 ohms 270 119 do.. 24K 109 do 100 121 do 510K 111 do 15K 122' do- 1K 112 ..do 510K 123 do 220 113 do 100 124 do.. 3.9K 114 do 3K 126 do.. 1K do 220K 127 -..do 510K 116 m 1.8 128 do 240 117 ohms 15K 129 do 390 Capacitors:

46 mf 2 138 mf .33 47 mf 2 139 mf 3.0 73 mf .01 141 mf .68 74 mf .05 142 mf 1 131 mf 20 143 mf .22 132 mf 20 144 ..mf .05 133 mf 20 146 ..mf 1.0 134 mf 20 147 mf 1.0 136 mf 10 148 ..1nf .03

Rectifiers: 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157 and A circuit constructed in accordance with the foregoing provided regulated output voltages as follows: position liamps; position 4, 50- 100-250 milliamps.

and 1% and line variations.

Thus, it is seen that an improved regulated thyratroncontrolled power supply the grids of the Regulation was within 1% in the in the current ranges for load is provided. A novel circuit is provided for shifting the phase of the signal applied to thyratron whereby a sampled D.-C.

error signal may be employed to control the firing angle to regulate the output voltage or current as desired.

I claim: 1. A regulated power supply including a thyratron having plate, grid and cathode elements connected to a source of A.-C. voltage and serving to form a D.-C. outi put, means for sampling the DC. output, a phase shifting network connected to receive said sampled output and to form an A.-C. control signal whose phase with I respect to the A.-C. voltage is controlled by the sampled output, said phase shifting network including the secondary of a transformer connected to receive a reference voltage having a fixed phase with respect to the A.-C.

voltage, a capacitor and a plurality of resistors serially connected across said transformer secondary, a vacuum tube having at least plate, grid and cathode electrodes, said grid being coupled to the junction of said capacitor and one of said plurality of resistors,

said cathode being coupled to the other side of said one resistor whereby said reference voltage may be applied tube, a source of D.-C. voltage,

to the grid of said said other resistor and said source of D.-C. voltage being serially connected between said plate a sampled output transconductance and said cathode, means for applying to the grid of said tube whereby the of the tube is varied to thereby vary the input resistance of said tube and the phase of the control signal with respect to the voltage, and means for applying the control signal to the grid of thethyratron.

2. A regulated power supply as in claim 1 wherein said tube is connected as a cathode follower with the output being obtained across the cathode resistor.

3. A regulated power supply including a thyratron having plate,

rectify the same to form grid and cathode elements adapted to be -C. voltage and serving to a D.-C. voltage, means for sampling the output D.-C. voltage, a phase shifting network connected to receive the sampled output and form an A.-C. control signal whose phase with respect to the A.-C.

ed by the sampled output, said phase shifting network including the secondary of a transformer connected to receive a reference voltage having a fixed phase with respect to the A.-C. voltage, a capacitor and a plurality of resistors serially connected across said transformer secondary, a vacuum tube having at least a plate, a grid and a cathode, the grid of said vacuum tube being coupled to the junction of said capacitor and one of said resistors, the cathode of said vacuum tube being coupled to the other side of said one resistor, whereby said reference voltage is coupled to the grid of said vacuum tube, a source of D.-C. voltage, said other resistor and said source of DC. voltage being serially connected between said plate and said cathode, means for applying the sampled output to the grid of the tube whereby the transconductance of the tube is varied in response to the sampled output, the variations in transconductance serving to vary the input resistance of said tube whereby the voltage phase in the phase shifting circiut is varied, means for deriving a control signal from said phase shifting network, a balanced amplifier serving to receive the controlled signal, means for applying a voltage of fixed phase to the balanced amplifier whereby the output signal has a relatively constant amplitude over the range of phase shift, and means for applying the output of the balanced amplifier to the grid of the thyratron to control the output from the same References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,219,397 Plebanski Oct. 29, 1940 2,619,626 Anderson Nov. 25, 1952 2,766,382 Dawson Oct. 9, 1956 2,899,629 Kubler Aug. 11, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Reference Data for Radio Engineers, 4th edition; published by the International Telephone and Telegraph Corportion (January l957), pages 444 and 445 relied on. 

